Mukabumi was initiated by Abel K. Aruan, a former M.T.S. student at Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH), as a Contextual Education Project in Spring 2023. Initially titled “Postcolonial Ecotheologies Resource Portal,” this project aimed to collect resources that would promote decolonization and postcolonial theological perspectives within the field of ecotheology, and it was made possible by generous funds and the supervision of ecotheologian and director of the Faith & Ecological Justice program at BUSTH, Dr. Rebecca Copeland.

Aruan is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Villanova University as well as Director of Publication, Grant, & Award for Indonesian Theologians Association. As his scholarship develops, so does Mukabumi. Having received the 2024 Advancing Public Scholarship Grant from Henry Luce Foundation & American Academy of Religion, Mukabumi is now able to narrow its focus to several endangered communities in the multireligious country, Indonesia, and to build connections with local activists, preachers, and religious figures.